Headlamps on vehicles are typically mounted so that they may be adjusted in both their vertical and horizontal orientation. They should be precisely oriented so that the beams of light from the headlamps will be used most safely and effectively. One way to test the orientation of headlamps is to shine the headlamps onto a wall in front of the vehicle and check the light pattern on the wall against some standard. The headlamps may then be adjusted until the standard is achieved. Another way is to check the true horizontal and vertical inclination of the headlamp front surface, since the headlamps are ordinarily made so that, for example, true vertical orientation of the headlamp front glass surface will correspond to a proper vertical orientation for the resulting light beam.
Accordingly, a number of devices have been devised that allow one to check the true vertical orientation of a vehicle headlamp by simply applying the device to the headlamp. Some of these devices have elements to compensate for a slope in the surface on which the vehicle is resting. Obviously, orienting a headlamp to a true vertical while the vehicle is on a slope would mean the headlamp was not truly vertical when the vehicle was truly horizontal, unless compensation for the slope was made. The devices have differing arrangements for checking the vertical orientation of the headlamps and for compensating for floor slope.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved headlamp adjuster that compensates for floor slope, that is compact and easy to use, and that is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.